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Friday, November 28, 2014

Here's the latest wrap-up of assorted links and short news items of local interest:

* Jazz on Broadway, which featured first weekly and later only occasional live jazz at 554 East Broadway in downtown Alton, has closed after a three-year run.

A message sent to the club's email list by manager Jimmie Small said in part, "I do not have the liberty to divulge the overwhelming circumstances that led to this sad event. I would like to, on behalf or all who worked hard during these last 3 years to make the establishment a fine upscale venue for live entertainment, thank each and everyone for all their support, their time, and their encouragement."

* Drummer and St. Charles' own Dave Weckl is the subject of the cover feature in the January 2015 issue of Modern Drummer magazine (pictured), coming soon to subscribers' mailboxes and to booksellers and newsstands everywhere.

* Saxophonist Greg Osby has posted a new blog entry in which he opines that critics might gain some much needed empathy from experiencing first-hand the rigors of the road and the effects they have on musicians.

* The weekend's best local music-related long read, though, though is "The 100 Greatest St. Louis Songs," compiled and written for the Riverfront Times by Roy Kasten, Christian Schaeffer and assorted RFT colleagues.

The list covers all musical genres, including entries representing a number of St. Louis jazz musicians, and better yet, the article contains YouTube audio for nearly all the listed songs so readers can easily hear them. (Full disclosure: Although I didn't write any of the entries, yr. humble StLJN editor is one of a number of people ostensibly knowledgeable about local music who were solicited for their input and are name-checked in the piece.)

* Jazz radio update: This Saturday night on Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis, “Somethin’ Else” host Calvin Wilson will be breaking out the Blue Note, featuring recordings made for the legenday label by the likes of Lee Morgan, Jackie McLean and Bobby Hutcherson. The program can be heard at 8:00 p.m. on 107.3 FM, 96.3 HD-2, and online at http://www.rafstl.org/listen.

Edited after to posting to the link to the Alarm Will Sound video. As noted any time AWS is mentioned here, I've been working with the firm Slay & Associates since 2010 providing publicity help to them for their performances in St. Louis and Columbia.